Experts Call for Review of Cybercrime Law to Curb Fraud

Worried about the rise in cybercrime in Nigeria and across the globe, cyber-security experts have called on the federal government to review the country’s 2015 Cybercrime Law, in order to effectively address new trends in cybercrime.

The experts who spoke recently during a webinar to announce the forthcoming cyber security conference in Nigeria, being organised by the Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN) stressed the need for a review of the legislation to reflect current trends in the digital space.

President of CSEAN, Mr. Remi Afon, said the review became important in order to address some areas that were not covered by the law, adding that since the Cybercrime Law was approved for implementation in 2015, the world has experienced emerging technologies.

He explained that such new vulnerabilities could be address when the law is reviewed.

According to him, “Since the law was passed, Nigeria and the entire world have witnessed new cyber threats, like fraud in cryptocurrency, fraud using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), fake news, hate speech, kidnapping and ransom taking, among others.

“So there is need to review the law by security experts to address those areas that were not covered by the law, in order to make the Cybercrime Law more effective.”

Afon, who cited the case of Twitter suspension in Nigeria, said Nigeria needed cyber-security experts to be part of the team currently discussing with Twitter.

He said Nigeria does not need new regulation to address the Twitter issue, adding that what Nigeria needs, “is regulation that is embedded into the country’s Cybercrime Law,” hence the need for a review.

He decried the situation where no one has been convicted with the provisions of the Cybercrime Law, because of what he described as poor implementation of the law.

He called for capacity building for the judiciary in terms of training and re-training, to enable the judiciary understand the Cybercrime Law better, while handling cases of cyber fraud.

Afon said Presidents of developed countries have Cybersecurity Advisers, as against National Security Adviser that the Nigerian President has. All these he said, would be addressed, when the Cybersecurity Law is reviewed.

Afon further explained that the CSEAN Cybersecurity conference, which is scheduled to hold as a hybrid event in Lagos, from October 6th to 7th, 2021 would raise awareness on new trends in cybersecurity.